The trial of one Mr. Adeolu Adeyanju, owner of Detwinx Global Service Limited, who was brought before Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on a 10-count charge by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has been stalled due to non-appearance of the defence counsel.
At a resumed hearing of the trial, the accused informed the court that due to financial constraints, he could not pay for the services of his former counsel or hire a new one to represent him. He also said that he had been in detention in Kuje prison since May 2015 on the orders of court.
The defendant was charged for alleged forgery and fraudulent receipt of the sum of N468, 794, 613.76 from the account of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Abuja, an offence contrary to Section 13 and punishable under Section 68 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
The prosecution team from ICPC had appeared in court with witnesses for cross-examination but. Mr. Adeyanju sought the relief of the court to afford him the opportunity to secure another lawyer to represent him during trial.
In his ruling, Justice Yusuf granted the defendant his request for time to engage the services of a lawyer.
The matter was adjourned to 29th June, 2017 for continuation of trial.